Sanitary cheese-case.



J. A. LEAGH. SANITARY CHEESE CASE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1912.

6 //7 7V V 23 j 40 i9 16 ii 5/1 I Guam UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES A. LEACH, OF ADA, OHIO.

SANITARY CHEESE-CASE.

T 0 all fw/LOHL it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES A. LEACH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ada, in the county of Hardin, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Cheese-Cases; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in display cases and more especially to that class adapted to hold cheese or the like.

An object of this invention is the provision of a cheese case such as described which is of such construction that it will prevent the entrance of dust, germs, etc, and yet permit a sufficient circulation of air for ventilating purposes.

Another object of this invention is to improve and simplify devices of this character, rendering them comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, reliable and eflicient in use and readily operated.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention resides in the novel features of construction, formations, combinations and arrangements of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a similar View showing the inner face of the intermediate panel and the buffer or partition strips against which the glass panel is adapted to bear, said glass panel being omitted in this View. Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional View taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 8, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail sectional View taken on the line 66 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings the numeral 10 indicates my case as an entirety, the latter including a substantially rectangular base 11 to one end of which is hinged as at 12 a casing 13. This casing includes the vertically extending corner bars 14 which are connected at their top ends by the four horizontal rails 15 and at their bottom ends by the bottom rails 16, also four in number, thus producing opposite sides 17, a front end or wall 18 and a rear end or Wall, the sides 17, front end 18 and top of the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 1, 1912.

Serial No. 684,889.

Patented June 30. 1914.

casing being closed by the usual glass panels 19. A description of the construction of the rear end or wall of the casing will be hereinafter given in detail.

Folding braces 20 are pivoted to the bottom of the casing 13 and to the base 11, and serve to hold the casing elevated from the base when the casing has been raised to obtain access to an article of food restingupon the base.

In the present description we will consider the hinged end of the casing as the front of the casing and the free end or that part which is grasped to raise the casing as the rear end for the reason that when the device is in use the base rests upon a counter or the like with the hinge-d end facing the customer and the free end facing the clerk behind the counter. The article of food, such as cheese, is placed upon the base, and the inner face or wall of the rear end is provided with a mirror as hereinafter described, so that a customer standing in front of the counter and looking into the case toward the rear end will see the article of food reflected in the mirror.

The construction of the rear end of the casing forms an important feature of my invention. This rear end comprises the outside wall 22 which is preferably made of wood, the intermediate panel 21 which is arranged in parallelism with, but spaced apart from the outer panel, and the panel 36 of mirror plate glass which forms the inner wall of the casing end, and which is spaced apart in turn fronrthe intermediate panel 21 as is shown in Figs. 2 and 5. The outer wall 22 is provided with a handle 23 which is used to swing the casing on its hinges, the entire rear end of the casing being rigid with the frame of the casing. The inner partition 21 of the rear end of the casing has attached to the inner face thereof a strip 24 which extends lengthwise thereof so that it separates the space between the glass panel 36 and the partition or panel 21 into a lower compartment 25 and an upper con'ipartmeut 26 which in turn is divided into two compartments 27 of equal size by the vertical strip 28 which extends from the strip 24 to the adjacent top rails. Ths sides of the strips 24- and 28 which face the back of the mirror panel 36 are covered with fabric as at against which the back-of the mirror may rest so that the liability of the mirror being broken by shocks or jars is reduced.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 3 that the corners of the mirror panel are cut away as at 37, so that communication is afforded between the compartments 25 and 27 and the interior of the casing. The front wall 22 is formed adjacent its lower edge with openings 39 which are closed by pivoted or rotatable plates 40. When these plates are moved to uncover the openings 39 air may pass in to the space between such outer wall 2-2 and the intermediate panel 21. Such air will then pass through the openings 29 formed in the intermediate panel 21 and preferably in alinement with the opening- 39 of the outer wall and so into the compartment 25. From this compartment the air will pass through the openings 37 formed by the cut away ends of the mirror panel into the interior of the casing. The circulation of the air is thence up through or to the top of the casing, out through the cut away openings 37 at the top of the mirror panel to the compartments 27 formed between the mirror panel and the intermediate panel 21, thence through the openings 32 in the upper portion of the intermediate panel 21 and thence out through the openings 38 in the outer wall 22, which openings 38 preferably aline with the openings 32. To prevent dust and other foreign matter from entering the casing through the various openings, I cover the openings 29 near the bottom of the intermediate partition with a reticulated screen closure 30, and likewise close the openings 32 near the top of the intermediate panel 21 with screenlike material 38.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of my improved case will be readily apparent. The food is placed upon the base 11 and the casing swung on its hinges to close it down as shown in Fig. 2. The plates 4-0 being moved to uncove the openings 39, the air will pass in through the outer wall, the intermediate wall and the cut away corners of the glass panel or mirror to the inside of the casing, and thence will circulate up and through the openings at the top of the casing, as before described, and so on to the outer air. When the casing is lowered or dropped toward the base it creates a concussion or movement of air inside the casing which escapes outward through the screens covering the openings of the intermediate panel, thereby keeping them free from clogging by dust and consequently free for the admission of air.

In order that the casing may be conven- Copies of this patent may be obtained for iently secured to the counter or table, I provide metallic strips or brackets 45 which are connected to the base by suitable fastening means, such as nails 46. Furthermore, the lower faces of the bars of the casing which rest upon the base are provided with spacing strips of soft rubber, shown at 4-7, to prevent air entering the casing when the latter is in its closed position upon the base. It should be understood in this connection that various minor changes in the details of construction can be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without de parting from or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

From. the foregoing disclosures taken in connection with the accompanying drawing it will be manifest that a device of the nature described is provided which will fulfil all of the necessary requirements of such a device.

Having thus fully described this invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

1. In a sanitary cheese case, the combination with a base, of a casing of boxlike for mation hinged to said base at one end, the opposite end of said casing including an outer wall having air openings adjacent the bottom edge and adjacent the top edge thereof, anintermediate panel spaced apart from the outer wall and having air openings therein alining with the openings of the outer wall, and an inner wall in the form of a mirror panel having its corners cut away to permit the passage of air, the openings in the intermediate panel being covered with screen-like material.

2. In a sanitary cheese case the combination with a base, of a casing of boXlike for mation hinged to said base at one end, said casing including a wall member having air openings adjacent the bottom edge and adjacent the top edge thereof, a glass panel spaced apart from said wall and having its corner portions cut away to permit the passage of air past the glass panel, spacing strips carried by the first mentioned wall and arranged in the space between the glass panel and such first mentioned wall, said spacing strips bearing against one side of the glass panel, and coverings of screen-like material for covering the openings of the first mentioned wall.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES A. LEAGH.

Witnesses:

W. W. RUNSER, L. M. GERKEY.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

